In what has been a fantastic start to the season for the Manchester boys basketball team, one thing that has been a constant has been the Squires ability to put up points in a hurry. That quality was on full display Friday night as Manchester resumed Three Rivers Conference play with an absolute thrashing of North Miami, putting up over 100 points in a 102-20 win.
The victory was Manchester’s ninth of the year and third in as many tries in the TRC.
The last time out was a game that the Squires were eager to forget, as Manchester fell to Wabash in the championship game of the County Tournament. This was evidenced by their play in the first half, as the home team wasted no time getting going and never let up from there. The Squires scored the first 12 points of the game in the first three minutes, putting the game away almost immediately after it began.
That was just the beginning. The balanced attack for Manchester would begin the game firing on all cylinders and never stop. Wyatt Prater began the game with a pair of threes. Gavin Martin got it done from all over the court, beating his defenders in the lane and off the dribble. Fellow senior Tyler McLain was a two-way menace, racking up the steals on defense while draining a pair of threes on the other end.
While all of those performances were crucial to the big lead the Squires were able to get out to, no player made a bigger impact on the game than Gavin Betten.
The 6’6” junior was everywhere, jumping passing lanes to begin fast breaks, catching lob passes down low and using his big frame to turn his opportunities into easy layups. Betten was doing everything for Manchester, and it showed on the scoreboard, as the big man scored 24 points in the first half alone.

    Junior Carter Wagoner of Manchester scores during the second quarter. Photo by Gary Nieter

After a quarter, the home side was holding onto a 31-8 lead that could have been even larger if North Miami had not hit a three at the first quarter buzzer. That was just the beginning though, as the second quarter began with a Manchester blitzkrieg. The Squires would score the first 31 points of the period and make it look easy, oftentimes stringing together two or three baskets before the Warriors found a way to get the ball past midcourt. The lead soon grew to over 30, then 40, until it reached the 50-point mark with a few minutes left.
With the running clock not going into effect until the second half began, Manchester saw little reason to let its foot up off the gas pedal, continuing to take it to the visitors as everyone got in on the action. Forward Carter Wagoner did great in his few minutes subbing in for Betten, scoring five in the period. When the halftime buzzer sounded, wide-eyed fans looked up at the scoreboard to see their Squires up 68-10.
Interestingly enough, the starters for both sides remained on the court as the third quarter began, despite the contest being decided long ago. After a relatively quiet first half, Garrett Sites scored Manchester’s first two buckets of the period to get in on the fun. These makes would push the lead to over 60 points.
With about two minutes left in the expedited third period, Manchester finally made the platoon switch, putting in four players who had not yet seen any action to play alongside Ethan Hendrix, who was having a great game of his own. The junior would sink a pair of free throws at the end of the quarter to get into double digits scoring while also extending the advantage to 71.
The only question left to answer was whether or not Manchester would reach the 100-point threshold, as the Squires were just 14 away with eight minutes to go. Leading the charge to get there was Carson Heath, who made a couple of highlight plays to get onto the scoreboard.
With three minutes left in the game Tallon Torpy would hit a layup to put his team over the century mark. Aarond Reid would also hit a shot in the final minutes, making it eleven different Manchester players to score at least one point. With a minute remaining, Sammie Lambert became the 12th and final. The impressive scoring explosion will certainly be one to remember for all involved.
Three players finished in double figures for Manchester, led by Betten, who finished with 26 points, six rebounds, five steals and two blocks. McLain scored 12 points while Martin added eleven. Prater, Hendrix and Kaleb Kline all scored eight, with Hendrix grabbing eight boards as well. Wagoner scored seven while Sites and Torpy added six apiece.
The Squires (9-2, 3-0) have a quick turnaround to deal with taking on Fort Wayne Canterbury at home Saturday evening for a nonconference showdown.